Press Releases | Visa

Visa’s Everywhere Initiative Calls on Global FinTechs to Participate in 2018 Program

2/28/2018

Visa expands global program to personalize experiences for start-ups
while providing a discovery mechanism for clients and partners

BARCELONA, Spain--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 28, 2018--
Visa (NYSE: V) today announced an expansion of Visa’s Everywhere
Initiative (VEI) for 2018 with a more dynamic program, new participating
countries, and an elevated level of support for participants. Visa’s
Everywhere Initiative is a global innovation program that tasks
start-ups to solve commerce challenges of tomorrow, further enhance
their own product propositions and provide visionary solutions for
Visa’s vast network of partners.

Visa’s Everywhere Initiative will begin 2018 with a broader approach
that presents program participants with challenges unique to each region
and propel digital commerce solutions. This year’s program updates
include:

Robust country lineup: The 2018 roster spans five continents,
with the next two programs launching in the United States on March 19
and Russia on March 15. The lineup includes Visa’s Everywhere
Initiatives in the following locations:

North America: United States

Asia-Pacific: Thailand*, Vietnam*, China

Latin America: Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Brazil,
Argentina

Europe; Middle East: Russia*; additional Europe
countries to be added

Africa: Sub-Saharan Africa*

New participants: Visa’s Everywhere Initiative will usher in
the next generation of innovators with the addition of three
student-focused initiatives: in Europe, a partnership with Junior
Achievement, student participation in the Russia 2018 VEI program,
and with Northwestern University’s “MMM” student program in the United
States.

Dynamic format: The program will expand beyond the traditional
country competition format to offer more ways for startups to
participate in Visa’s Everywhere Initiative, which may include
immersion workshops at Visa’s global network of Innovation Centers,
networking opportunities within Visa’s global partner network and
expanded regional competitions.

Innovative briefs: To support the global trends shaping the
FinTech category as outlined in Visa’sInnovations
for a Cashless World: Consumer Desire and the Future of Paymentsreport,
start-ups will answer briefs tackling the biggest challenges that face
the commerce landscape today, both globally and regionally – for
example, expanding access to digital payments in Latin America,
conversational commerce solutions in North America, cross border
travel for tourists in Asia, open banking solutions in Europe and more.

Bridge of support: To reward top participants, Visa may provide
monetary prizes, access to Visa’s products and services via APIs on
Visa Developer Platform, expert mentorship and support from Visa and
exposure to key FinTech constituents across banking, merchant and
government sectors.

“Visa’s Everywhere Initiative is in a unique position to help uncover,
support and apply emerging technologies to today’s biggest digital
commerce challenges,” said Shiv Singh, senior vice president, Innovation
and Strategic Partners at Visa. “No longer confined by the geographical
proximity to established innovation hubs, the brightest ideas are coming
from all corners of the world and this continues to be a successful way
for Visa and its partners to collaborate with some of the most promising
start-ups.”

Since starting in 2015, Visa’s Everywhere Initiative has awarded over $1
million and mentorship to more than 130 finalists - from companies
looking to push the boundaries of tomorrow to those looking to create
quick, real-life payment implementations. One of these companies is
LISNR, which won the US program in 2016, is exploring ways to transfer
payments through sound with Visa and its partners in Asia-Pacific.

"Visa's Everywhere Initiative originally opened up the possibility of
using sound to support payments and other financial services use cases,”
said Rodney Williams, CEO of LISNR. “Over the past few years, we've
worked closely with Visa to validate this concept and we’re excited for
a future where contactless payment activity may be supplemented by
data-over-audio."

Visa also continues to work with previous winners such as IncreaseCard
(Latin America), QPal (Middle East), EasyShare (Asia-Pacific), HopOn
(Europe) and Losant (North America) that are pushing the boundaries of
the commerce ecosystem.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments. Our
mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable
and secure payment network - enabling individuals, businesses and
economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet,
provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable
of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The
company’s relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid
growth of connected commerce on any device, and a driving force behind
the dream of a cashless future for everyone, everywhere. As the world
moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products,
people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more
information, visit usa.visa.com/about-visa.html,
visacorporate.tumblr.com and @VisaNews.